This book will help you prepare the EPSO CAST Project / Programme Management tests of any function group, to be selected as a contract agent by the EU Institutions. It includes a guide for the whole selection procedure, support to your self-motivation, tips to improve your application and being shortlisted, strategies to increase your score in the tests, advice for your interview, and the materials that you should study to pass the competency test. All this from the personal and professional experience of a successful candidate in the EPSO CAST tests and the reasoning tests of the highly competitive EPSO Administrators (AD) cycle, being an official at the public administration in Spain and having held several positions as a Head of Unit from 2009 to the present, mostly in the areas of human resources, finance, programme management, law enforcement and general administration. He has also worked as a national expert at the European Commission, provided training to civil servants, coached many candidates for open competitions and several EPSO CAST profiles, and written books for this purpose.

This book addresses the processes related to mine abandonment from a hydrogeological perspective and provides a comprehensive presentation of water management and innovative tracer techniques for flooded mines. After an introduction to the relevant hydrogeochemical processes the book gives detailed information about mine closure procedures. The book also includes case studies and hints, and some new methodologies for conducting tracer tests in flooded mines.

The Ultimate EU Test Book - ASSISTANT edition 2013 is designed to help candidates prepare for the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) AST-level selection competitions for jobs in the EU institutions. Fully updated for 2013 and packed with guidance, useful tips and practical exercises.

Facing the Assessment Centre, the final stage in selection competitions for permanent jobs in the EU institutions, can be a daunting challenge. This brand new edition of The Ultimate EU Test Book has been written by specialist trainers in EPSO competitions to give practical help to candidates. It explains what the assessors are really looking for and the important do's and don'ts it is essential to be aware of. Written in a lively hands-on style, this is a must-have resource for anyone preparing for the Assessment Centre.● How the EPSO Assessment Centre works, including a typical day● The EPSO competencies and how they are measured: Analysis and Problem Solving, Communicating, Delivering Quality and Results, Learning and Development, Prioritising and Organising, Resilience, Working with Others, Leadership ● The exercises used to test the competencies, the keys to success and the pitfalls to avoid - the Case Study, the Oral Presentation, the Competency Based and Field Interviews, the Group Exercise, plus the In-tray● Full sample exercises with scoring keys ● Recruitment & the Competency Passport ● Relevant for all Administrator and Assistant competitionsTABLE OF CONTENTSChapters1. The EPSO Assessment Centre2. The EPSO Competency Framework3. The Case Study4. The Competency Based Interview (the Structured Interview)5. The Oral Presentation6. The Interview in the Field7. The In-tray (E-tray) Exercise8. The Group Exercise9. Recruitment10. What if You're Not on the Reserve List?Annexes1. Sample Case Study2. Competency Based Interview Questions3. Sample Oral Presentation4. Sample In-tray (E-tray) Exercise5. Sample Group Exercise6. Sample Competency Passports7. Glossary

The European Union is grappling with a democracy problem. The succession of crises which have plagued the increasingly executive EU for years, has led to a rising cacophony of voices calling for fundamental change to the integration project. Yet despite the seismic shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets by nativist parties across the continent, few of the plans for EU reform include concrete proposals to reduce the age-old democratic deficit. This book is concerned with the two-pronged question of how the relationship between citizens, the state and EU institutions has changed, and how direct democratic participation can be improved in a multi-layered Union. As such, this edited volume focuses not on populism per se, nor does it deeply engage with policy and output legitimacy. Rather, the research is concerned with process and polity. Building on the notion of increasing social, economic and political interdependence across borders, this volume asks how a sense of solidarity and European identity can be rescued from the bottom up by politically empowering citizens to ‘take back control’ of their EU.

This book is a comprehensive and up-to-date resource covering the botany, production and uses of limes. The lime is an important fruit crop throughout citrus producing regions of the world, with its own specific benefits, culture and marketplace, but producers face issues affecting successful cultivation and production. Authored by an international team of experts and presented in full colour throughout, this book is an essential resource for academic researchers and specialist extension workers, in addition to growers and producers involved in the citrus industry.

"The Ever-Changing Union" provides a concise overview of the EU's history, institutional structures and decision-making processes. As such, its aim is not to cover the breadth or complexity of information that can now be found in EU text books; this overview should provide the reader with all the information required to gain access to a complex institutional system that has been changing ever since its creation. In the first section the European integration process is described from its beginnings in the early 1950s to the current ratification problems of the Treaty of Lisbon. A second part presents the EU's main institutions with their distinct features and a third explains how these institutions interact within the European decision-making process as a whole. In addition, the Reader includes an overview of fundamental principles of the European integration process, a comparison between the EU and federalist systems, the basic features of the EU budget and the key innovations to be introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. The book is written for those with an initial or occasional interest in European policies and politics. More particularly, the authors believe it to be useful for civil servants, diplomats, businesses, NGO representatives as well as students and scholars who encounter the European Union in their work.